Familia Restaurant

In the past, the food was delicious, the service was friendly and the decor was interesting. The only reason why I didn't rate them 5 stars was because my most recent visit was a total bust as they were closed during their business hours. I verified their business hours on their Facebook page before trekking to the other side of town in the rain. It was my birthday and I was craving Puertorrican food. Imagine my disappointment to arrive at 6 pm and find the place completely dark and empty. I understand that with a family owned business emergencies can happen but there was no announcement on their Facebook page or note at the door explaining the closure or when I could expect them to reopen, not even a post after the fact about it. I never have reason to be on that side of town so I don't know when, if ever, I'll get to visit again since I can't rely on their posted hours to be accurate.

Not sure what to think... Spent an hour driving to the place because at noon today it said it opened at 1. Get there at 1:30pm and it's closed. Now states open 2-7. People were in, why couldn't someone come to the door and say something? Very bad business. My father is looking to move to the area and his first question is about Latino places to go out too. Very disappointed.

The food is very good and authentic. Great team, Jr and Iris..

Illy was our waitress & cook. Said it is family run. She announced some foods were sold out of but spoke to my mate in Spanish, I never ate at Puerto Rican restaurant before so had no idea what they were talking about. He had plato pastel with rice and pigeon peas, I had garlic pork mofongo. We should have ordered from the $6.99 lunch special menu. It was very good. They do not open till 1 pm. Closed Tues & Wed. We will go back.

Went there today and what I wanted the did not have. If you have a menu and you have items on that menu and do not have it. It only tells me they are not a good restaurant . I was looking forward to the dish and being from a Latin family was disappointed . Do not go there after 4 they told me they run out of food.

Looking in Yelp for a Puerto Rican restaurant around the area where we were staying, we found Familia Rest. The ambiance is very nice and cozy, and the place seems to be run by a family (matriarch with daughter and other family members). First, don't be in any kind of hurry when coming here. They take their sweet time. For appetizer, we ordered the surullos (which were between ok and good). For dinner, we ordered mofongos (the staple plate in the restaurant). All three mofongos had the same issue, super oily! As a matter of fact, the flavor of the mofongo (which tipically should be mashed with the garlic and chicharron inside) was basically the oil (I'm thinking they are using garlic in olive oil mixture).The shrimp were ok (seemed more like frozen cooked shrimp like the kind one buys in Costco that were warmed up coated with the oil and garlic mixture). The fried pork tasted good, but the portion provided was super small. The pernil was good, fresh, recently cooked. Oh, and when the order came to the table, one of us was no given silverware. When we asked for silverware, only a fork was delivered to the table. We had to again ask for napkins. The soda was put on the table without a glass or even a straw. We just went along with it at this point because we believed that, if we asked for a glass, it would take an hour to get it! With one of the orders of mofongo we asked for a side of white rice with red beans. When the order came to the table, it barely had any rice. As a matter of fact, if it had 2 tablespoons of white rice it was a miracle!!!! I mean, rice is cheap, why be so stingy with the side order? Since we really liked the beans, we ordered another side of white rice and red beans. Again, super small portions! Another staple dish in the place is the flancocho (flan and cake baked together). We were told that even though they had baked one, it was not cool from the fridge just yet (and this was at 6pm - dinnertime). The final bill was over $60 for 3 mofongo plates, 1 softdrink, and 1 natural juice (which was warm, by the way). I'm giving 2 stars because I like the nice (older) lady that took care of our order, not because of the food! The flavor is not there, and the service (or lack of it) affects the whole experience.

Went tonight for the first time and we will ABSOLUTELY be back. Upon walking in, i was instantly transported to the best little spots in Puerto Rico. We walked in about an hour before closing so a few things were sold out for the day. To me this was immediately a good sign. We had alcapurrias, mofongo with shrimp and the plato tipico (pernil, arroz con habichuelas and a pastel) and everything was DELICIOUS. We absolutely cannot wait to return. The atmosphere, the music, the warmth of the staff makes for an incredible dining experience. Thank you so much!

The Canoe was really great. Everything took some time to come out but you can't rush fresh made food.

It was good . Not great but they apologized about not having a lot of the food items on the menu. Very friendly service. Took a while for 3 of us to get our meals. Being this is a Puertorican restaurant and I am Puertorican I am more critical as I cook this at home myself. But I will return and hopefully they will have the other selections such as their fritters available and will update this review. I hear that the Mofongo is really good here but it wasn't available this day either.

Went for lunch the day after the TCPalm.com review. The chef said that the previous night was crazy and they were out of many menu items. Ok - what do you have today that is good? Picadillo and fried pork chunks (not sure of Spanish name). So that is what we went with and it was good. The flavors are there without a doubt and portions enough for a hungry guy and to take some home. Came with beans and rice and tostones. The difference between 4 and 5 stars was that I needed some sauce or something to tie the pork chunks to the beans and rice. Also had a guava and cheese empanada which was amazing -- the pastry was good and I usually don't even like that part. The place is small with 30 seats or so. Owner and chef very involved with customers. Don't be in a rush because things are made to order. We played a game of dominos (after asking Siri how to play) with a set that was on the table. Will go back and try dinner one day.

I went here on a feild trip with my Spanish1 and 2 class mates. We all had a great time. Really good food, awesome people and personalities and really nice decorations all around the inside! HIGHLY recomeded❤❤

Let me start by saying that even better than the food is the treatment you get when you walk in. Iris helped me cater a party as well as she has feed me on multiple occasions. From the rice and beans to the rice with octopus, the fried chicken, the appetizers,to the pizza empanadas I pretty much love everything Iris has served me! It is totally worth the vist.

Stumbled upon this place after Easter service at church. Definitely authentic Puerto Rican food. There's definitely a wait for your food because it's being made from scratch! I highly recommend this place! I loved the fresh tamarind juice, fresh and perfectly seasoned food and home made desert! I had the flancocho (flan on bottom and cake on top) was absolutely delicious and obviously homemade! Also, there's Puerto Rican music playing while you dine! I felt like I was actually in Puerto Rico!

Very disappointed tonight. Decor and music wonderful. Food portions very small. Mofongo was cold. Literally cold and hard???? Pastelas $4.00 each?? Tops $3.00 everywhere else and loaded! These were gummy, not cooked enough and very plain. Very very disappointed and 65.00 for dinner and 6 Pastelas is not okay. We will not be back. Nice people but bad food. They tried I guess :(

If you have that special blood type of Boricua running through your veins. And if your a regular low maintenance type who just enjoys a freshly made Bistec Empanizao, MoFoNgO or something related to what we're used to, this is the place to go. I walked in and immediately felt at ease, welcomed and at home. But if you're the type who's more into fancy dandy restaurants, I seriously doubt you'll feel the flow. Even though it's far from my normal route, it was well worth it, and Arnold Schwarzenegger says; Regresare